Regulator seeks more power to tackle retailer stonewalling

The Agri-Food Regulator is seeking more power to compel businesses in the agri-food supply chain to turn over information on prices and markets, as it claims to have been stonewalled by some retailers.

Chair of the regulator’s board, former Irish Farmers' Association president Joe Healy, has written to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue requesting new powers for the body to be written into law.

This power would allow the regulator to compel all businesses in the agri-food supply chain, including retailers, to provide the information that the regulator can only currently ask for.

The move follows the regulator’s attempts from March of this year to engage with egg packers and retailers to get the non-public information it needed to deliver a “robust” report on prices and margins in the egg supply chain.

However, the regulator stated that this level of reporting was “not feasible”, as “a number of retail businesses” did not turn over the data that was requested.

As a result, the report published by the regulator in July was compiled using figures which were already available to the public.

The four largest egg-packing firms in the country were among those which did provide information, as were BWG, Marks and Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group, Sysco Ireland and Tesco Ireland on the retail side.

'Disappointed with some retailers'

“While the board is grateful to the businesses that provided information to the regulator, we are disappointed that some retail businesses did not see fit to provide the requested data with a view to improving transparency,” Healy commented.

“The regulator considers that these additional powers are essential so that it can fulfil its functions of addressing issues of lack of transparency and information asymmetry in the agri-food supply chain as envisaged under the 2023 act.

“I spoke with the Minister earlier this week to inform him of the board’s recommendation and to bring him up to date on efforts by the regulator to fulfil its legislative mandate thus far,” the chair added.